Speaking of frivolous lawsuits, here's an amusing one from the ATLA website.
In 1998, Enterprise Rent-A-Car filed lawsuits against Rent-A-Wreck of America (a tiny rental company) and Hertz Corp. and threatened to file lawsuits against several other car-rental companies who use the phrase "pick you up," claiming that "We'll pick you up" is Enterprise's slogan. While those suits were pending, Advantage Rent-a-Car counter-sued Enterprise, claiming that Advantage had used the phrase "we'll pick you up" long before Enterprise did. Enterprise argued in its lawsuits that the phrase means more than "we'll give you a ride"; it means "we'll pick up your spirits." Competitors said that there was no other way to say "we'll give you a ride." Enterprise attorney Rudolph Telscher said that "we'll decide in the courtroom who is correct here."
Talk about activist judges.
Posted by Alan Hogue at July 20, 2004 04:22 PMOh my, this one's even better:
Coca-Cola, the producer of Minute Maid orange juice, sued Procter & Gamble charging that ads for Citrus Hill Select "falsely" claimed that the juice was made from the "heart" of the orange.
Posted by: Alan Hogue at July 20, 2004 04:28 PMSince the question of what kinds of lawsuits are filed with what frequency has come up, it might help to look at the California court system statistics on that subject.
Posted by: Martha Bridegam at July 20, 2004 07:35 PMMaybe it's just that Martha's started a Be-Nice-to-Walmart Week, but I don't think their suit over their patented gizmo is necessarily frivolous (unless there's more to this story than we're being told). I mean, it's their gizmo, and the Patent Office would have had to be convinced that there was something sufficiently unique about it to grant the legal protection in the first place. I don't see why K-Mart should just be allowed to rip it off.
Incidentally, Paris Hilton and I share one thing in common; I've never been to a Walmart either. Not out of choice, but simply because there don't seem to be any round here.
Posted by: Alan Allport at July 20, 2004 08:35 PMIf Enterprise wins their case on the argument that they will "pick me up" spirit wise in addition to picking me up in a rental car they damn well better make me happy. Does that mean I can sue Enterprise if I'm still in a bad mood once they "pick me up"?
I hope in this lovely litigious country some smartass will file that lawsuit.
Posted by: Barbara A. MacDonald at July 21, 2004 11:06 AMFunny how we all grow up basically encouraged to falsify such things. I got put in the corner once at church school because, since I was not happy, and I did not know it, I wasn't gonna tell a lie by clapping my hands.
Posted by: Martha Bridegam at July 21, 2004 05:50 PM